Mozart Smiles

feverish movement

circle of light

in the darkened hall

oboe and flute

puff and strain

to maintain with

swaying violins, violas

and cellos pounding

out soul,

beating heart

of timpani

while lost in time,

arms waving

shoulders hunching,

flashing

hands slashing

the glittering air,

Mozart smiles.

Sonata

"Music is pleasing not only because of the sound but because of the silence that is in it: without the alteration of sound and silence there would be no rhythm."

Thomas Merton, No Man is an Island

The grave is empty.

Darkness, half lit by the blurred moon,

Chilled by the sea, the fog waiting,

The enthralled stars, nearly lost,

Searching for another earth,

The dark soil waiting for the seed.

Chaos-night.

The memory of a fireplace,

Warmth with music

Undulating arias

Like small birds falling into darkness.

Cold rain

Driving against my window.

Muffled music and dreams of water,

And another grave.

Simon and Garfunkel, 1969

Their music

still holds me.

two voices

swelling in the night

driving out the silence

with the sound

of sweet life.

Horror filled our lives then,

war was all around

and the very best  among us

all were

shot down -

But we never lost hope

so long as we could hear

their music ringing clearly

as the darkness gathered near.